The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport has urged motorists to be courteous as the province is experiencing heavy rainfall after an accident resulted in the closure of the N3 at Van Reenen’s Pass on Sunday.
Department spokesperson Kwanele Ncalane said the accident involved a collision between two trucks.
“The road is still closed, and traffic is being diverted to alternative routes such as the N11 linking KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga and the R74 linking KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State,” Ncalane said just before 4pm.
He said officials were currently on the scene working to remove the trucks and to reopen the traffic.
Ncalane said one person had sustained injuries and had been transported to hospital.
“The department is appealing to road users to postpone their travelling, using the N3 between KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng or to delay their travels until the recovery is completed,” he said.
According to the department, there was also a huge traffic backlog due to a head-on collision at the Mayiwane intersection in Ulundi, in which four people were killed. In another accident, eight people were seriously injured when two taxis collided on the R56.
The department called on road users to be extra-vigilant as the province was experiencing heavy rainfall and was also experiencing mist in places.
The South African Weather Service issued a warning of heavy rainfall over parts of the country over the weekend.
“Persistent showers and thundershowers may lead to flooding over the central and eastern parts of the country, particularly from Sunday into Monday, while severe thunderstorms with heavy rainfall and large amounts of small hail are possible over the western interior on Sunday into Monday,” the weather service said.
The Mercury